Before the sailing season

There is still ice in front of Grise Fiord, open water is at about twenty
kilometres from the village. Despite cracks more and more difficult to cross,
hunters are still travelling by snowmobile, sometimes with their family, and
they carry small boats for safety and narwhal hunting. So our dinghy went for
a ride, however it remained well strapped to a sled. I also got the curiosity
of my friends with the hydrophone, which allows you to listen and record
seals, walruses and whales underwater. Some new sounds for them!

July 9 was Nunavut Day, the
weather was beautiful (2°C, light southerly wind, bright sun). Draw for a
muskox hide, cake contest, wooden duck race in the river, music and
barbecue... Twenty years after the creation of Nunavut, testimonies evoke
pride, regret and hope (read articles from
CBC
or Al
Jazeera). A
statue
created by three artists including Looty
Pijamini from Grise Fiord
(author of the Exile
Monument), was
inaugurated in Iqaluit for the occasion (discover Nunavut's capital in
3D).

Gradually work and maintenance on board Vagabond occupy most of our time,
while the last measurements are carried out on the ice every two or three
days. The main current program is to follow the melting snow, the drain of
meltwater, and the formation of melt ponds at the surface of the ice. The melt
cycle is disrupted this year with unusual precipitation! The
IMB
station has been recovered, while the three cameras
continue their timelapse series (every 30 minutes).